06/09/2026
W.R. Brown: 1st President of the Arabian Horse Club of America
William R. Brown was a prominent breeder of Arabian horses in the early 20th century. He was also the first president of the Arabian Horse Club of America. In 1912, Brown established the Maynesboro Arabian Stud in Berlin, New Hampshire. he began by purchasing horses from other notable U.S. breeders of the time, such as Homer Davenport, Spencer Borden, and J.A.P. Ramsdell. In 1918, Brown began making his own importations, most notably from the Crabbet Stud in England and later from France and Egypt. He also established two more Arabian studs – one at Decorah, Iowa and another at Cody, Wyoming. By 1919, Brown was making great progress promoting the Arabian breed in America. He engineered and won the first Cavalry Endurance Ride, which led to the use of the Arabian horse in the U.S. Calvary.
As with many of the early 20th century breeders, horse breeding was a hobby of Brown's, not a business. Brown's business was in lumber. His logging company owned over 3 million acres throughout New England and Canada. He instituted many innovative changes to the lumber industry including increased safety standards and the use of mechanized logging equipment.
